Car-coupling.



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c. A. uurm.y rtime couPLma.

(Application led Mar. 26. 1900.)

(lo Model.)

WITNESSES @imi 71mm@ Nn. 669,044. Patnted Feb. 26, |901. C. A. DUNN.

CAR CUUPLING.

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2 Sheets-Sheet (-Hu Model.)

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MTN/55555: /M/NVENTOR. BY j a www A TTORNEK Uniti-en Smyrne PATENT OFFICE.

CLAUDE A. DUNN, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

CAR-COUPLING.

SZPECIFICATON forming part of Letters Patent No. 669,044, dated February 2G, 1901.

Application filed March 26, 1900. Serial No. 10,257. @T0 mOdel- To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, CLAUDE A. DUNN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing` at Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplings; and l do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the iigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specication.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic car-couplers of the vertical-plane type 5 and the objects of my invention are,tirst, to provide a knuckle-coupler that will connect automatically with all couplers known as the Master Oar-IEuilders7 type, Whether they be opened or closed, locked or unlocked; second, to provide a couplerin which the knuckle is compensating in -its action; third, to provide a coupling in which the knuckle is protected against damage by collision with other couplings by the top and bottom plates, and, fourth, to provide a coupling in which the knuckle is protected from damage by collision with a link in a cooperating coupler. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved coupler. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of Figs. 1 and' 2. Fig. L1 is a plan view of the knuckle. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of Fig. 4: in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 6 is a cross-section of Fig. 4 on line A. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the camlever.

Similar numerals of reference refer to si milar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the draw-bar, which is of the kind generally used and is connected in the usual way to a passenger or freight car.

2 represents the coupler-head, showing by dotted lines the knuckle Sin place with a portion of its head portion 4 extended across and through the coupler-head and a little back of the top and bottom plates. The knuckle is pivotally attached to the coupling-head by a pin 5, which is located on or near the center line of draft. The knuckle swings freely on the coupling-pin inthe coupling-head.

6 represents the manually-operating pullback or uncoupling rod. This rod rests in a socket 7 east in the coupling-head, and its in ner end is pivotally attached to the knucklehead bya pin 8. The pull-rod 6 is surrounded by a compression-spring 9, which is arranged to hold the knuckle in its operative coupling position, and consequently in its draft or pulling line, when in operation, and also serves as a compensating element on curves and swaying of cars.

The front end of the knuckle contains a vertical hole 10, in which a pin 1l, which is shown in Fig. 2, may be kept for coupling with a link-and-pin coupling. The center of the knuckle is also provided with a slot 12, in which a link is placed and held by the pin 11. The head of the coupling has its front portion cut away at 13, which allows the extended part 14 of the knuckle-head a clear space to move back into when uncoupling. The back of the knuckle is formed into a number of projecting ribs l5, which give it great strength to resist the shocks of cooperating couplers. A projection 16 is formed 0n the front end of the knuckle at a short distance from its round end. This projection fits over the edge 13 of the coupling-head. This projection strengthens the end of the knuckle and closes the space between the kn uckle and the coupling and prevents einders or anything larger than sand from entering the couplerhead. Sand easily finds its Way out of the coupling-head through the hole 20.

A shoulder 18 is formed on the knuckle just hack of its front end, which registers against a shoulder 19, formed in the coupling-head. These abutting shoulders 18 and 19 receive the shocks of blows and the pressure on the end of the knuckle from' other couplings. The opposite side of the coupling-head from the portion that shields the knuckle is provided with an outwardly-exten ding guard-arm 23, the back of which is formed into ribs 24A, which are curved to guide a cooperating knuckle into engagement with the knuckle of its cou pling-head.

The uncoupling-rod projects through a hub portion 24, formed ou the back of the coup- TOO ling-head, and to its end a locking-cam 25 is pivotallj7 secured. This cam comprises two curved blades 26 and 27, which unite in a handle portion 28. The blades straddle Vthe unlocking-rod and are pivotally connected to its end by a bolt 29.

The locking-cam is held close to the face of the hub by the spring 9, and when the handle is raised the cam-faces bear against the face of the hub and pull the rod and knuckle back, thus disconnecting and uncoupling the knuckles from one another,

A recess 30 is formed in the center oF the face of the hub, into which the ends of the cam-blades lodge when it is raised to a substantially horizontal position. A step 31 is made in the extreme ends of the cam-blades, which makes a flat bearing for them in the recess and holds, under the outward expanding pressure of the spring, the cam-lever in a substantially horizontal position, which of course holds the knuckle back in a position of disuse until the handle is pressed down, when the spring 9 forces the knuckle out into its normal coupling position as defined by its stop at its hub. A stop projection 2OA is also formed on the hub portion of the knuckle, which is arranged to Contact against the adjacent Walls of the core 21A of the draw-bar and prevent the knuckle from swinging too far forward into the path of a cooperating knuckle.

The top and bottom sides 34 and 35 of the coupling-head extend completely over and slightly beyond the bodj7 of the knuckle and completely protect the knuckle from collisions With cooperating coupler-heads and prevent breakage of the knuckles from this source, which is very common in couplers in which the knuckles extend beyond the coupling-heads.

Large ribs 32 and 33 are formed on the top and bottom sides of the coupling-head and extend from the rear end of the head to the front end.

Myimproved coupleris very simple, strong, and durable and thoroughly protects the kn uckle from collisions with cooperating couplers. The knuckle, owing toits being pivoted to the central portion ot the axis of the draw-bar, has a direct axial pull on it and on the carto which it is attached, While the knuckle is free to swing throughout a large radius. This enables it to couple with any verticalplane coupler in use, which it will do. It will also couple on curves, which is a great advantage over the couplers in use.

Having described my invention, what I claim new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a car-coupling, the combination with the draw-bar an d the con pling-head,the guardarm forming one side of said head, a curved knuckle pivoted at the axial central portion of said head, projecting ribs on the back of said knuckle, a casing forming the opposite side of said coupling-head and arranged to surround said knuckle, a hollow hub portion on the back of said casing portion of said coupling-head, an uneoupling-rod pivotally secured to the ribs of said knuckle, and extending through said hub, an expansionspring surrounding said rod and arranged to normally hold said knuckle in coupling position, and a lever pivoted to the free end of said rod, a cam on the end of said lever adapted to bear against the face of said hub and a manually-operating handle connected to said cam, substantially as described.

2. In a car-coupling the combination of the draw-bar and the coupling-head, with the knuckle,the uncoupling-rod pvotally secured to said rod and extending through said coupling-head, the hub on said coupling-head, the expansion-spring, the cani-lever, the lockingsteps in the ends of said cams and the recess in the face of said hub, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I alix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CLAUDE A. DUNN.

Witnesses:

BEssIE THOMPSON, SAMUEL E.MARSHALL. 

